The Governing Body

Who Are The Governors?

The governing body is a group of individuals, made up of parents, staff and members of the local community. We work on a voluntary basis to support the strategic leadership of the school. Governors typically serve for terms of four years, and will have a variety of responsibilities during this time.

What Do We Do?

Whilst the governing body carry many legal responsibilities for the school, this only represents part of the overall story. These activities include:

Prioritising repairs and improvements to the school buildings and grounds

At Holly Park we have a clear expectation about the role of Governors. Please see the attached booklets with our Handbook and our Governor Code of Practice. It would be important to read these documents if you are considering being a governor at this school.

Every governing body has an instrument of government. The instrument of government sets out how the governing body is made up. Here is Holly Park’s Instrument of Government

We also have a job description for the chair and vice chair which you can read here

Every September the Governors at Holly Park fill in a form to declare any financial or business interests. Please find a blank form attached.

Holly Park Governors come into school and do learning walks and open mornings regularly. In these sessions they look in books, speak with key staff, observe parts of lessons, talk to children, attend assembly and go out in the playgrounds to observe the children.

These visits into school are planned out for the whole year as part of the school calendar of events. The visits are linked to the School Improvement Plan so that governors can focus on specific issues that will feed into the plan. These visits give them opportunity to see the work of the school in action and to ask questions and make suggestions about what they see.

Here you can see how often Governors attend school events and meetings:

These are the issues that governors focused on to find out more, monitor and measure the impact of in 2014/15

September Learning walks – General

October – active learning

November – Governor Open Morning – Pupils to show books and talk about learning and feedback. New Curriculum

Three levels of challenge

December – Learning walks – Writing

February – Learning walks – presentation

March – Governor Open Morning – Handwriting & Attendance

April – Learning walks – Behaviour

February – Learning walks – presentation

June – Governor Open Morning – How we involve key staff in monitoring

June – Learning walks – Differentiation

Annual statement of the impact of Governors’ work in the school 2014-15

When discussing the new marking policy, a Governor commented that schools she worked in used purple pen for pupils to respond with as it stood out – we adopted this Sept 2013

When discussing the new appraisal cycle a governor explained that if we followed a business model it would be better to end the cycle in July – we adopted this Sept 2013

After an incident at the end of the day Governors discussed a parent code of conduct – this was implemented September 2014

After an incident in the playground involving Parents Governors took action to enforce a ban on a parent June 2014

Following discussion among Governors about making sure Governors know what is expected of them a new Governor Handbook/Code of Conduct was introduced September 2014

When discussing attendance a Governor commented that secondary schools reward 100% attendance regularly with prizes not just at the end of the year – we adopted this Autumn 2013

Regular termly/half termly premises tours with a Governor have highlighted maintenance issues to be addressed and has contributed to playground ideas and major summer work schedules

A Governor suggested a lockdown policy following issues in other countries and recently very locally – the policy was adopted Autumn 2014, the siren was fitted Autumn 2014 and the first drill happened Summer 2015

When discussing changing payment for extended services a Governor suggested that parents plan their year so what about making changes ahead of September so parents would know in time and we would change just once a year – we adopted this – Spring 2015

On a learning walk looking at handwriting and presentation, Governors commented favourably on improvements and the introduction of the poetry booklets in KS2. However, on speaking to children, the children also wanted to have different types of texts to copy – this will be implemented Sept 2015

Pupil Premium – after watching an instrumental concert, two Governors asked about the percentage of children playing an instrument. The percentage was low so they suggested using PP money for some PP children to have lessons – we have planned this for Sept 2015

A Governor commented that ensuring that eligible parents sign up for Pupil Premium funding early was the key and from other schools that she knew of they offered free uniform – we will offer this to new parents at the meeting June 2015

Following an Open morning about monitoring governors gave some suggestions about how we could improve feedback to staff following book scrutiny – we will adopt some of these suggestions from September 2015

Who Are The Governors?

We have four types of governor: Parent Governors, who are elected by the parents of the school; Staff Governors, who are elected by the staff team; Community Governors, who are invited to join the Governing Body as representatives of our local community; and Local Authority Governors, who are appointed by the London Borough of Barnet

Our current Governors are:

Andrew Ballam-Davies – Community Governor and Chair of the Governing Body

I have two children who have passed through Holly Park School from nursery to year six and who are now enjoying their time at Alexandra Park School and the University of Stafford. I have been a Governor at Holly Park for nearly 14 years, first as a parent governor and now as a community governor. My specialisation is in finance and business management and I lend that expertise to the senior management team at the school. In my spare time, I am involved with scouting and other charitable work. I am also the SEN Governor. My term of office as a Governor at the school ends on December 1, 2018.

Ann Pelham – Headteacher Governor

I have been at Holly Park since 1990 when I started as a Newly Qualified Teacher and gained several promotions including Senior Teacher, Assistant Head Teacher and Deputy Head Teacher. During my time at the school I also gained my Masters Degree in Education. I have been lucky enough to have worked with some wonderful Head Teachers during my time here. I am passionate about the school and feel extremely proud to be its Head Teacher. I work very closely with the Governors, teachers, parents and children to build upon the success that the school already has and to take the school forward.

Fiona Quinton – Community Governor

Both my children went to Holly Park and one is now at Friern Barnet School and the other at Woodhouse College. I joined the governing body in March 2012 and am chair of the Premises Committee working with the site manager to keep the school in good repair and appearance. I am also on the Eco Council and take an active interest in the school allotment. I am the Online Safety Governor. My term of office as a Governor at the school ends on March 7, 2020.

Fiona Vettiankal – Community Governor and Vice Chair of the Governing Body.

I joined the governing body in April 2011. I am chair of the Learning & Teaching Committee. I have two sons, one at Holly Park and the other in secondary school. I have been teaching in secondary education for the last 16 years and I currently work part-time in a secondary school as an Associate Leader for Professional Development. This involves training teachers, delivering training courses and implementing new teaching and learning approaches. My term of office as a Governor at the school ends on December 1, 2018.

Clare Wischhusen – Parent Governor

I have been a Holly Park parent since 2011. My son is now in Year 4 and very much enjoying his time here. I am on the Staff and Pupil Welfare and Teaching and Learning Committees, and I am also an active member of the PTA. I bring experience from a diverse range of areas, including language teaching, community work and performance. I am the Governor responsible for Safeguarding and Trips and Visits. My term of office as a Governor at the school ends on February 3, 2019.

Gael Birtill – Parent Governor

I have a daughter who is in Year 2 at Holly Park having enjoyed her time in Nursery and Reception. I work as a speech and language therapist in schools and nurseries and homes and have previous experience as an Irish music teacher and as a teaching assistant. I am looking forward to being part of the team of Governors and contributing to the life of the school and am part of the Teaching and Learning committee and chair of theStaff and Student Welfare committee. I am the Governor responsible for Attendance. My term of office as a Governor at the school ends on March 29, 2019.

Ben Vandyk – Parent Governor

I have two daughters in Holly Park. I have been working in the IT industry since 2001 and I currently work for the NHS as an IT Project Manager. I joined the Governing Body in 2015 and I am looking forward working with the other Governors to help shape and improve the school. My term of office as a Governor at the school ends on March 29, 2019. I am chair of the Finance Committee.

Michael Crooks – Parent Governor

I have two daughters who attend Holly Park. I became a member of The Governing Body in February 2016 and am a qualified accountant currently working in the Insurance sector. I am interested in ensuring that each child has the best educational experience during their time at Holly Park. I am a member of the Finance and Learning & Teaching committees. My term of office as a Governor at the school ends on February 11, 2020.

Hedley Dindoyal – Parent Governor

My two children attend Holly Park. I work as a creative director, photographer and filmmaker for a creative agency. Although much of my work is for corporate clients, I have a personal interest in using film and photography to document social and community issues. I am passionate about Holly Park and excited at the prospect of being part of the team of Governors. I feel honoured to have the opportunity to help contribute to the development and success of the school and well-being of the children. My term of office ends on December 5, 2020.

John Harte – Parent Governor

I have two children at Holly Park and joined the governing body as a parent governor in June 2017. Having originally trained as an academic historian, I work these days in music as Chief Executive of a London-based orchestra; in a charitable capacity I’m also involved in music education work in the Middle East. I sit on the Finance and Premises committees

Dr Kate Tress – Community governor

I have lived in London since 1962 when I came to study Psychology at University College. I married a Physiology student, Ivor Gartside. I did an MSc in Physiology and a PhD in Psychology and worked in research for many years before becoming a Clinical Psychologist. We moved to Friern Barnet in 1971 and one of my jobs was supporting people moving from Friern Hospital into the community. My last job before I retired in 2001 was head of Clinical Psychology at the Royal Free Hospital. We have two daughters – both of whom went to Holly Park School from nursery to year 6 and then went on to Queen Elizabeth’s. My main interests are theatre, music, travelling and gardening. My term of office ends on July 3, 2021.

Simon Reid – Community Governor

I started work as Resident Site Manager at Holly Park in 2005 and became the support staff Governor in March 2015. I have two sons aged 17 and 21, the youngest of whom attended Holly Park as a junior pupil and went to Woodhouse College while his brother went to the University of Sussex. I am very passionate about football and have run the Holly Park football teams for the last ten years. I have been Barnet East League Organiser for primary school football since 2009, a role that has also enabled me to promote girls football in the borough. I attend the Premises Committee meetings in my role as Site Manager but am looking forward to representing the views of the support staff as a Governor on the Staff and Pupil Welfare Committee. My term of office as a Governor at the school ends on March 29, 2019.

Tim Graveney-Community Governor

I am a parent of three children, my daughter left Holly Park in 2015 and my son is currently in Year 6. My working background is in risk management in the financial services, particularly professional ethics. In my spare time, I enjoy playing and watching sport – and latterly ferrying the school football team as they represent Holly Park across Barnet. As a community governor of Holly Park, I want to use my experience and influence to be an effective liaison between parents and leadership, so that innovation and improvement takes place constantly in a multicultural, energetic and (above all!) happy school. My term of office as a governor of the school runs until 4 December 2021.

Clare Hegarty – Community Governor

I was delighted to be asked to join the Holly Park Governors in Sep 2017. My first involvement with the school was through my work, leading the Year 5 school journey. Through the children and staff I could see what a special place the school is. I hope to contribute to the life of the school, bringing experience and knowledge from my work in education as a teaching assistant, IT teacher and 12 years as a School Business Manager in primary and secondary schools, as well as from the private sector working as an IT Project Manager and most recently as the Business Manager of Non Stop Action. My own three children have all been well served by their education in Barnet schools and through those years, I gave freely of my time to their school PTAs and governing bodies. It is my privilege to continue that work with Holly Park.

If you would like to find out more about the work of the Governors, or would like to be join the governing body, please contact the school.We will continue to develop the school for benefit of the children. This is why we do what we do.

A passion and concern for the development of our children are the main requirements for any Governor. Please feel free to contact me via the school office or by email athollyparkgovernors@yahoo.co.uk.